


An Apple A Day

by alli_luvv



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Minor Character Death, Pining, it has a happy ending i promise, slow burn kinda, the character death is mostly just discussions of a death that happened off screen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-22 18:53:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30043179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alli_luvv/pseuds/alli_luvv
Summary: The adventures of Adam Birkholtz while he runs an apple orchard and falls in love.
Relationships: Adam "Holster" Birkholtz/Justin "Ransom" Oluransi, past March/Justin "Ransom" Oluransi - Relationship
Comments: 10
Kudos: 39





	An Apple A Day

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this post](https://nurseanddex.tumblr.com/post/620487647490719745/au-where-holster-runs-an-orchard-in-the-fall-its) on Tumblr!

Adam Birkholtz has always appreciated a good pun. Which is why, when he inherits a well loved private apple orchard from a distant cousin shortly before his college graduation, he decides he’ll call it Adam’s Apples. The inheritance solves for him the problem of what to do after college, he had always loved the orchard growing up, and it just makes sense for him to take it over now that it’s his. His mom had always said it was a shame her cousin had never tried to make any money off of it, so he figures that’s what he’ll do, turn it into a business.

Unfortunately, Adam has no fucking clue how to run a business, much to the dismay of his econ professors. Fortunately, he does have amazing friends with a wide range of talents. They spend the summer after he graduates fixing up the house on the property and getting the orchard ready to open for business. Shitty and Jack invest in the business, become his partners, and they use the cash to make the necessary improvements and cover the permit costs. Shitty uses his legal knowledge to take care of all the paperwork. They commission Lardo to make all the signs and design promotional material, and hire Dex and Chowder to build them a website. Bitty devises recipes that are simple yet sinfully delicious, and promises to come and help him with the baking on the weekends. 

That first year wasn’t a resounding success, but it was enough. Enough to keep them going another year. Adam has the good sense to offer Bitty a full time job the second he graduates, and eventually, the whole Samwell gang is involved. The house on the property becomes the Haus 2.0 as they all graduate and move in. Dex takes on maintaining the website in his spare time between freelance coding gigs, Nursey runs the hay rides and sells his poetry books in the gift shop Jack had insisted they establish. Chowder and Jack are on the road often with their NHL careers, but they always come to stay in their offseasons and visit as much as they can.

In short, it’s perfect. Or at least, it would be if Adam wasn’t so damn lonely. He wonders, as the years go by, how he could possibly be surrounded by all of his best friends all the time, running a business that he loves, and still feel like something is missing. Almost like a part of himself is missing. Whenever that thought comes too close to the surface, he pushes it down and files it away to deal with it another time.

It’s the first day of the tenth anniversary season of Adam’s Apples when another time becomes now. 

Adam is running the admissions, collecting the apple picking fees and handing out the baskets, his favorite job, when he looks up and sees him. The most handsome man on the face of the planet. He’s tall, with the kind of eyes so dark and deep that Adam wants nothing more than to spend the rest of the day getting lost in them. It takes a sense of balance developed from years of hockey to keep him from falling flat on his face when the man steps up to the table and flashes him a brilliant smile. Adam barely manages to register the truly unfortunate salmon shorts he’s wearing before he notices the sweet little girl clutching the man’s hand. She couldn’t be more than five or six, and she looks almost like a miniature version of her dad, just with a bit of baby fat hiding what will surely end up being the same impossibly sharp cheekbones.

“How can I help you today?” he manages to get out, hoping the years of customer service experience can carry him through the interaction without making a complete fool of himself.

“Well, it’s our first time here, so we’re not quite sure how everything works,” the man said apologetically, “We just moved to town over the summer, and June here has never been apple picking before, so obviously we had to fix that.”

“Of course,” Adam says, chuckling, “It is the quintessential fall experience, you know.”

“Yes, and the key to us becoming proper New Englanders,” the man smiles, “We were uh, living in Texas before.”

“What brings you to Massachusetts?” Adam asks, not wanting the conversation to end. He regrets the question when he realizes the man’s smile has dimmed.

“Work.” is the answer he gets, and he knows better than to press, he’s already pushed the conversation well beyond most of his customer interactions, but he’s still reluctant for the conversation to end. It hits him suddenly, how this almost feels like what he’s been missing. 

“So, uh, it’s just a flat fee of twenty dollars per basket, we do all you can fill rather than by the pound here,” Adam says, practically on autopilot. He does not have the mental fortitude to deal with that thought now. The man nods, a hint of his previous smile beginning to return.

“If you’re interested in the hay rides, you can buy those tickets here or at the stand next to the tractor, it’s two dollars per person if you’re picking apples, five dollars if you aren’t. We also have a gift shop and cafe in the barn over there, we carry some work from local artists and authors and we sell a full line of apple baked goods, juices and ciders, all home made with the apples we grow,” Adam continues, rattling off his usual spiel. The man pulls a twenty and a ten dollar bill from his wallet, and hands them to him. 

“We’ll take one basket and two tickets for the hay rides.” Adam hands him his change, a basket, and the tickets, concentrating on keeping his features neutral as their fingers brush. 

“You’ll just want to head over to the right, there are signs that designate where you can go to pick the apples. The hay rides run every thirty minutes, so just make your way over whenever you’re ready.” Adam tries not to be too disappointed as the man and his daughter walk away into the orchard. He forces himself not to think about how much he wants to go with them, and tries to concentrate on his job. Eventually, Tango comes to relieve him from his post. He decides to treat himself to a cider donut as a distraction, and of course, right when he enters the barn he sees them. They’re seated at one of the little tables that Dex built, during their fifth anniversary summer when the orchard had gotten too big to run the gift shop and cafe out of the house anymore. They’re close together, splitting a piece of apple pie and drinking cups of cider. Adam forces himself to tear his eyes away from the sweet scene, feeling like a bit of a creep for having stared at them for as long as he did. Bitty shoots him a knowing look when he steps up to the cafe counter.

“See anything you like?” he drawls, smug smile on his face. Adam glares, hoping the force of it would keep Bitty from uttering anything especially embarrassing while the man is within earshot.

“Cider donut,” Adam grumbles. Bitty just smirks as he hands him the treat. 

***

That night, Adam is logged in to the Adam’s Apples instagram page, going through the posts tagging them from opening day. Usually, Bitty handles the social media pages. They’d all agreed that with the wild success of his baking vlog, he was the most qualified. Every year on opening day, Adam liked to go through the customer posts and like and share a few from the official page. He nearly dropped his phone when he saw the post from a user named ransom11.

It was the man. He’d posted a series of unfairly attractive pictures of himself and his daughter at the orchard. The first was a selfie taken on the hay ride, the two of them with matching smiles and the light hitting them in such a way that they seemed to be glowing. The next one, someone must’ve taken for them, it showed the man lifting her up to reach an apple in the tree while they’re both laughing. There’s an artsy shot of their ciders and pie, a really sweet one of his daughter taking a big bite out of an apple, and a couple of what Bitty would call aesthetic shots, artfully arranged pictures of the barn, the apple trees, and the tractor. Adam chuckles at the caption,  _ Officially a New England stereotype! Thanks @AdamsApplesOrchard for a perfect start to fall #beingbasicnevertastedsogood _ . He tapped to like it, then hesitated over the share button. Most people didn’t mind when they shared tagged posts to their story, but Adam preferred to ask first, especially if kids were in the pictures. He tapped on the username to go through to the profile, intending to send a quick generic message about sharing the post. Within two seconds of looking at the profile, he realizes that he is well and truly fucked.

From the bio, he learns the man’s name is Justin, he used to play hockey, and he’s single. Basically, he is Adam’s dream man. Adam groans, the realization that he’s most likely straight and completely unattainable finally hitting him. He scrolls through the posts, because he has no self control and apparently, he likes to suffer. For someone who is absurdly handsome, Justin seems to be fairly down to earth. His page is a pretty decent mix of pictures of himself, his daughter, and artsy pictures of food and scenery. Adam’s brain short circuits when he reaches a picture of a much younger looking Justin at what is definitely Pride, wearing a bi flag as a cape. 

Maybe not so unattainable after all.

Adam loses track of time as he keeps scrolling until the page won’t let him scroll anymore. He blinks, finally looking up to realize more than an hour had passed while he went through the entirety of Justin’s instagram as if in a trance. He quickly scrolls back to the top of Justin’s profile to send him a message. If it takes him nearly twenty minutes to get the wording exactly right, well, no one needs to know that but him.

**AdamsApplesOrchard: Hey, this is Adam from Adam’s Apples! We saw your post and loved it, would you mind if we shared it as part of our Opening Day story series? Please let us know! Thanks!**

The typing indicator comes up almost instantly, causing Adam to release a breath he didn’t know that he was holding. 

**ransom11: I don’t mind at all, thanks for asking**

If he spends another thirty minutes staring at Justin’s latest selfie, well, that’s his business.

***

The next Saturday, Adam is running admissions again. It’s been a busy morning, the day is unseasonably warm and people have been flocking to get their apples picked before the hottest part of the day. He’s only got a little while longer before Ford comes for her shift when suddenly the man, Justin, is standing in front of him again. 

“Back so soon?” Adam says, after a too long pause. He mentally kicks himself when he catches the flicker of uncertainty that crosses Justin’s face. Even their most enthusiastic regulars tend to come only every two or three weeks, but he didn’t mean to point that out to Justin. He was thrilled to see him again.

“What can I say? We’re apple fiends,” Justin chuckled awkwardly, running a hand over his hair. 

“Well, we’re certainly happy to have you back! How can I help today?”

“We’d like to get a basket today, and please tell me there’s more of that apple pie in the cafe, it was heavenly,” Justin moaned. The expression on his face was doing absolutely unfair things to Adam, he could feel a blush rising on his cheeks as he tried to maintain some semblance of composure.

“The pie is a house specialty, we have it everyday.” Adam awkwardly completes the transaction, and then, because he hates himself, he says-

“Bitty, our baker, he actually has a cookbook that we sell in the gift shop, it includes the recipe for the apple pie.”

“Bitty?”

“Hockey nickname, we played together in college.” 

“No way! I used to play, too,” Justin smiles. Adam has to stop himself from admitting he knows, trying not to let on about how much time he’d spent practically memorizing his instagram. 

“Daddy,” his daughter says, tugging on his sleeve, “you said we could get pie for lunch!” Adam grins at her determined expression.

“Yes, I did. It was nice to meet you, uh-”

“Adam,” he says, holding out his hand. 

“Adam,” Justin repeats, with a firm handshake. “I’m Justin.”

“I hope to see you around, Justin.”

***

It’s a rainy morning, and of course Nursey’s managed to come down with the flu only two weeks into the season. Adam finds himself running the hay rides, as Dex has a deadline for a freelance gig he has to meet and none of the Tadpoles have gotten enough practice with the tractor to be able to drive it with customers in tow. It’s not his favorite job at the orchard, as it’s hard to chat with the customers over the roar of the engine, and it tends to get a bit monotonous, driving the same route around the property. Lardo promises to relieve him in the afternoon, but for now, he’s stuck out in the rain, and he won’t deny that it’s making him a little grumpy.

“Any seats left for the next ride?” a familiar voice asks. Adam slides down from his seat on the tractor and nearly wipes out from the shock of seeing Justin again, for the third week in a row. He and June have matching rain gear and the combined effect is so beyond adorable that Adam is sure it will send him to an early grave. 

“Yes, the next ride is fully open, actually.” The hay rides aren’t as popular on rainy days, so the morning has been slow. Even though they cover the hay bales with blankets, the trailer offers no protection from the rain, so the few brave souls who come to the orchard on days like this tend to stick to dryer spots like the cafe. Justin hands him the tickets and Adam helps them both into the trailer. He swallows a question about why they’re here on such a dreary morning, not wanting to offend. 

“This place is something special,” Justin comments as they wait until the scheduled time in case any other customers plan to join them. 

“Thanks,” Adam says, positively beaming, “It’s been in my family for generations, but it was always a private orchard then. I inherited the land right before I graduated college, a few of my friends invested to help me get the business up and running, and now here we are, ten years later.”

“Must be some accomplished friends to be able to invest in a business straight out of college.”

“Well, one’s a lawyer and the other plays in the NHL so I guess you could say that,” Adam chuckles, relishing in the surprised look on Justin’s face.

“Where did you go to school, that it’s churning out all these amazing people?”

“Samwell University, it’s not too far from here, actually.”

“I almost went there! Wait, when you say NHL player, would that be Chris Chow or Jack Zimmermann?” 

“Both, actually,” Adam grins at Justin’s awestruck expression. “Jack was one of the initial investors, Chowder invested after he signed. At this point basically, all of my college friends are some degree of involved with the business. Most of them live here on the property, actually.”

“That’s so awesome, that you’re all so close still. I, uh, don’t really talk to anyone from my school, anymore.” Something in Justin’s voice makes Adam want to hug him, a hint of sadness that says there’s a story there, but he refrains. He doesn’t want to overstep. He lets the conversation end there, and soon enough it’s time for him to hop back up on the tractor. By the end of the ride, the sun is peeking out through the clouds, and when he helps them down, Justin is back to his usual level of cheerfulness and charm. 

***

Adam is starting to think Justin is some sort of apple addict when he’s running the gift shop counter and it’s the fourth Saturday in a row that he and June have visited the orchard. Bitty shoots him a pointed look as he rings them up for two slices of apple pie, and their latest offering, an apple cider slushie. He regrets confiding in Bitty about his embarrassingly gigantic crush, he can sense that a scheme is brewing, the whole crew has been acting strange since the hay ride last week. 

“Holster,” Bitty calls, a positively wicked look in his eyes. Adam sighs and locks the register before trudging over to the cafe counter, resigned to his fate. He loves his friends, he really does, but can’t they just let him pine in peace?

“Holster?” Justin asks.

“Hockey nickname, we played in college,” Bitty explains, pointing at Adam. 

“Right,” Justin smiles, “I played, too.”

“Ooo, what was your nickname?” 

“Um, my last name is Oluransi, so the guys called me Ransom.” 

“Oh, you’ll fit right in here,” Bitty drawls, the gleam in his eyes beginning to frighten Adam.

“You called, Bitty?”

“Why, Mr. Birkholtz, this fine gentleman here was mentioning that a certain special little girl has a birthday coming up,” Bitty says, smiling at June. She’s sitting at the table closest to the counter, munching contentedly away at her slice of apple pie that Adam knows for a fact is nearly twice the size of the portions they typically sell. 

“Oh, she does, does she?” Adam grins. 

“I’m gonna be six!” June cheers. 

“And I was thinking, since y’all love coming here so much, we could put together something for her, from all of us,” Bitty continues. Justin protests, and Adam leans back, knowing better than to try and interfere when Bitty sets his mind on something. He takes the opportunity to appreciate again just how handsome Justin truly is. The hazy light in the barn seems to give him a soft glow, and his outfit today is hinting towards a better overall fashion sense than those god awful salmon shorts had implied. The heather gray sweater fits him like it was painted on, showing signs of a muscular torso underneath. His jeans emphasize the kind of perfectly sculpted butt only years of hockey can achieve. He’s even got a plaid scarf looped loosely around his neck, a picture of the classic fall aesthetic. Adam tunes back into the conversation in time to hear Bitty insist on them holding a birthday party for June here at the orchard the next Saturday night, after they’ve closed for the day. Justin finally relents after Bitty tells him how much everyone at the orchard adores June.

It’s only later, when Justin and June are disposing of their trash and saying their goodbyes for the day, that Adam catches Bitty giving him a devious smirk and realizes that this must be a part of the scheme. Once again, he comes to the realization that he is well and truly fucked.

***

June Oluransi loves her father, she really, really does. Which is why she happily goes along with him to Adam’s Apples, week after week. She’s really quite smart, for a child who’s not quite yet six, so she realizes on their second visit that there’s more to this than just her father’s insistence that he really likes fresh apples. She also realizes that it’s unusual for people to visit again after only a week, she sees surprise in the nice, tall, blonde man’s face when he comments on them being back so soon. Her father is happy at the orchard, especially when talking to the tall, blonde man. He’s happier than she’s seen him in a long time. Since-

Well, since her mother died. 

Her mom got sick about a month after she turned four, and they’d tried to keep her from realizing what was happening, but eventually, the doctors told them there was nothing else they could do. They called it cancer. Her mom would only have a few months left. By that summer, she was gone.

Her dad tried to keep everything as normal as possible for her, after. It was just too hard for both of them. Everything reminded them of her mom, and it made them both sadder and sadder. Finally, her dad sat her down in April and told her that after the school year finished, they were going to leave Texas, and move to Massachusetts. It was better there, her dad didn’t look quite so sad all the time. 

Then he brought her to Adam’s Apples. They had so much fun that day, picking apples and going on a hay ride. He told her stories about when he first met her mom, how they’d spent a fall day doing all the same things. He smiles, and for the first time in a long time, it actually reaches his eyes.

And then they’re back again. And again. Suddenly, it’s been four weeks in a row and June has eaten apples every day for a month, and she’s starting to get a little sick of them. She’s eating a slice of apple pie, a really big one that the baker man said he made special, just for her, when the baker man calls the tall man over and they start talking about her birthday. She proudly tells them that she’s going to be six. The baker man, he’s called Bitty, she realizes, is telling her dad how they’d love to do something special for her. She’s always subscribed to the idea that a birthday should have surprises, so she tries not to listen to what they’re saying. The tall, blonde man isn’t talking, and she sees something in his face when he looks at her dad. It’s almost like how her dad used to look at her mom, impossibly fond. When her dad comes back to sit down with her and finish his pie, she notices he gives the tall man the same sort of look.

She’s not quite sure what it means, but something in her says it’s important, so she resigns herself to daily apples and resolves not to complain.

June Oluransi loves her father, she really, really does. And she wants him to be happy more than anything. She knows her mom is gone, and can’t be that kind of happiness for him anymore, but she thinks the tall man could be. If that means having to eat apples every day for the rest of her life, well, she supposes it wouldn’t be the worst thing.

***

Adam has definitely, absolutely, positively not spent the entire week freaking out about the party. If anyone were to ask him if he was, he’d fervently deny it. He’s almost thankful for once that his friends can sometimes be oblivious as hell, because no one asks. They’ve all spent the week party planning up a storm. It seems that while Adam has been falling hopelessly in love with her father, the rest of the orchard crew has been falling for his sweet, adorable daughter.

He almost drops a basket filled with apples picked for Bitty to bake with as his thoughts grind to a halt, the realization that he thinks he’s falling in love with Justin coming a second later.

He’s, surprisingly, not at all surprised about the depth of his feelings. They’ve only known each other a short time, and he may not know every detail of Justin’s story, but there’s no denying that he feels like what Adam’s been missing. Honestly, he’s more surprised he didn’t notice sooner. He’d been disappointed earlier, when for the first Saturday since Adam’s Apples opened for the season, Justin and June didn’t come. He should’ve figured they wouldn’t, as the party is planned to start that night shortly after the orchard closes for the day. After all, no one can possibly like apples enough to come apple picking five weekends in a row. Still, it doesn’t take the sting out of it. He’s grown used to Justin’s presence, and only realizes now, once it’s missing, that it’s been the reason his days have felt so bright lately.

It’s a rare weekend with the whole Samwell gang in town. Jack and Chowder are more than happy to help out with the party after Bitty and Shitty pull them aside. Adam’s sure they’ve been given a crash course on his embarrassingly obvious crush and the finer points of the scheme that’s been put in place to get them together. He sighs, knowing from experience that it’s better to just let them play out their scheme than to try and stop it. They close the cafe a little early, and get to work setting up decorations that Lardo and Ford had made. Bitty is baking up a storm, impatiently waiting on the basket of fresh picked apples Adam hands him to finish some fillings. Jack and Chowder are setting up a table in the corner for presents, it’s quickly covered by wrapped packages of varying degrees of neatness. 

Soon the party guests are arriving, Bitty mentioned that he’d told Justin to have June invite some classmates, and most of them are over the moon to meet Jack and Chowder, already declaring this the best party of the year. Justin and June come shortly after, and Adam has to remind himself to breathe when he sees them walk in. He watches as they make their way around the room to greet everyone, content to hang back in his corner for now.

“Thank you for the party, Mr. Adam,” June exclaims, throwing her arms around him in an unexpected hug. He gently pats her on the head.

“You’re welcome, June! It’s the least we could do for our favorite customer,” he smiles. Justin makes eye contact with him as she clings to his legs, and the look on his face, well. If Adam didn’t know any better, he’d say it was almost fond. 

“Junebug, sweetie, why don’t you go say hi to your friends,” Justin says, as the hug shows no signs of ending. Adam flashes him a grateful smile. He likes kids, June especially, but he didn’t want to spend the rest of the evening with the newly six year old as an extra appendage. June squeezes him once more before she lets go and runs off to join the group of kids chattering excitedly near the homemade piñata, a joint effort from Lardo and Dex.

“You guys really didn’t have to do all this,” Justin says, sheepishly. Adam catches himself staring at the way Justin’s hand brushes through his hair and only forces himself to look away once it’s been a beat too long to be natural. He can feel heat beginning to rush to his cheeks.

“June’s a sweetheart, we were happy to put this together for her,” Adam shrugs. “Think of it as a thank you for being our best customers. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like life has been tough for the both of you?” Justin nods, not meeting his eyes.

“We, uh, sort of picked up on that? So, Bitty had the idea to throw her the party after she mentioned her birthday, and once he gets his mind set on something, there is no stopping him, trust me,” Adam laughs, “You should’ve seen what we had to do to get him to stop procrastinating his senior thesis.” 

“I can imagine, I was a bit of a wreck in college, myself,” Justin smiles, “During finals, I would end up curled up in a ball on the library floor with my flashcards.”

“It took three of us to hold him down while Dex padlocked and disconnected the oven so he couldn’t keep procrasti-baking. Chowder made flyers so he couldn’t trick people into letting him borrow their ovens.” Justin looks up at him, incredulously.

“Three of you?”

“He is deceptively strong.” The conversation lulls to a companionable silence and Adam takes the opportunity to study Justin surreptitiously. His jeans are sinfully tight, and he’s rolled the sleeves on his maroon sweater up to his elbows, the type of carefully put together look that still somehow managed to scream casual. Justin is leaning back against the wall, watching June play with her friends with a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“I haven’t seen her this happy since-” Justin suddenly breaks the silence, then pauses. Adam lets the words hang in the air as Justin gathers himself, not wanting to press for more than he’s willing to give. “Since before her mom got sick,” he continues, shoving his hands in his pockets and curling in on himself. Adam reaches out, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“She must’ve been really young then, right? God, that’s hard,” he sympathizes. Justin leans into his touch ever so slightly, the caution in the action saying more than words can about just how much he’s been hurting. 

“She had just turned four when March was diagnosed, and she passed away seven months later. She had such a hard time with her last birthday, so this just,” Justin sighs, “This means a lot. To both of us.” 

A few more minutes pass as they stand together, content to be wallflowers. It’s not Adam’s usual party style, but then again, his usual style typically involves shutter shades, togas, and practically lethal amounts of alcohol. None of which are exactly appropriate for a kid’s birthday party. Most of the parents are sitting together, making small talk while Bitty and Jack provide most of the party entertainment. 

“I am very curious to know how an NHL player got so good at making balloon animals,” Justin laughs, breaking the silence.

“He does all these outreach events with the Falcs, and they have a circus themed one every year. He saw how much the kids loved the balloon animals, so he paid the clown to teach him so he could make them for the kids at all the events.”

“Jack Zimmermann paid a clown to teach him how to make balloon animals?” Justin asks, shooting him an incredulous look.

“Yeah, fun fact, Jack is actually a giant nerd. He’s got the history degree to prove it,” Adam laughs.

“I really would not have expected that as the degree of choice for an NHL player.”

“We’re all just full of surprises on SMH, we have many layers,” Adam teases.

“I see, so you’re like onions then,” Justin grins.

“You did not just hit me with a half assed Shrek reference.”

“I do believe I just did.”

“Bro, I definitely cried over the onions have layers scene once while high.”

“Who hasn’t?” Adam laughs at the comment and bumps Justin’s shoulder playfully, lingering just a moment leaned into his side. 

Eventually, it’s time for June to open her presents and Justin goes to help her. Adam watches from the back of the party crowd, smiling at the scene. He can really see the love Justin has for June shining through his every move. He’s so caught up in the moment that he almost doesn’t notice Bitty trying to sneak up on him. 

“You realize I can see you, right?” he whispers. 

“You realize you’re hopelessly gone on him, right?” Bitty shoots back, sticking out his tongue. 

“I am painfully aware of that, yes.”

“You gonna do something about it?”

“What happens if I don’t?” Adam asks, suspiciously. Bitty shoots him a positively wicked grin.

“Payback for locking the Haus oven so I couldn’t bake until my thesis was finished,” he drawls.

“Payback? I wasn’t even there! I was already graduated!”

“Ah, but I have it on good authority that the whole thing was your master plan.” Bitty turns to him, one eyebrow arched suspiciously, as if daring him to contradict. 

“I plead the fifth?”

“Adam Birkholtz, either you make your move, or we’ll make it for you!” Bitty gives him a sunny smile before practically skipping away, but it still vaguely feels like a threat. Historically, he has been the mastermind behind SMH’s most devious plots, but he wouldn’t put it past them to come up with something sufficiently mortifying for him. It’s an extremely motivating revelation. 

The party has begun to die down before he finally works up the nerve to approach Justin, where he’s gathering up the absolutely massive haul of presents June received to load into his car. 

“Need a hand?” Adam asks, stepping up beside him. Justin smiles up at him, and Adam has to lean against the table to keep from melting to the floor, it makes him so weak in the knees. 

“That would be great, I didn’t think there would be quite so many,” Justin laughs, juggling a pile of presents in his arms. 

“Yeah, I think most of those are courtesy of her new NHL uncles.”

“I just can’t believe how generous you all have been, you really only just met us.”

“That’s kinda how we do things,” Adam chuckles, “Once we take a liking to you, you are quickly welcomed into the fold. Back in college we had a reputation on campus for being kind of... insular.”

“Oh, so culty? My daughter and I are in a cult now, cool,” Justin teases.

“Oh no, you’ve uncovered our master plan!” Adam bumps his shoulder to Justin’s as they walk out towards his car. He’s a little surprised when Justin bumps him back, a little harder. He isn’t sure what it means, but he hopes it’s a good sign. He stops a few feet back from the car to give Justin space to open the trunk.

“Where do you want these?” Adam asks, as Justin arranges his pile of presents in an increasingly futile attempt at trunk tetris. 

“Pass them to me.” Their hands brush in the exchange and the contact makes Adam shiver. He hopes that if Justin noticed, he will only attribute it to the chill of the fall night.

“Well, I think that’s everything,” Justin says, slightly shoving the last present to get it to fit in the packed trunk. 

“Looks like it,” Adam replies, awkwardly.

“Thank you again for throwing this party for June, it seriously made her year. That really means a lot to me.” Adam tries to casually offer his hand for a handshake, but he’s thrown off kilter by Justin pulling him into a bone crushing hug. He lets it linger for what seems like an eternity, barely daring to breathe until he can feel Justin begin to pull away.

“I should, uh, probably get June home soon. It’s way past her bedtime and she’s going to crash hard once all the sugar Bitty gave her starts to wear off,” Justin says, running a hand through his hair. Adam can’t quite manage to meet his gaze. The silence drags on to the point of being almost uncomfortable. He opens his mouth to say goodbye, but what comes out instead is-

“Do you want to get dinner with me sometime?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

***

It’s the fifteenth anniversary season of Adam’s Apples, but they’ve pushed back their traditional opening weekend to accommodate for a special event taking place at the orchard and everyone is running around in a flurry of last minute preparations. Lardo has wrangled Nursey and Dex into putting their height to good use to finish attaching flowers to the top of the arch that has been set up in the most picturesque corner of the property. The unseasonably warm day has been trying to thwart Bitty’s attempts at cake decoration, but he manages to get the finishing touches done in time to slip into a seat beside Jack just as the music signalling the start begins to play. With one last nervous tug to fix his tie into place, Adam takes his place in front of the adorned arch. 

The music swells, and Justin and June begin their march, hand in hand down the makeshift aisle. Adam’s hit for the first time with the realization of just how quickly she’s beginning to grow up. She’s not quite eleven yet, but she walks with such grace, never tripping on the hem of her floor length gown. His smile widens when he catches a glimpse of the bouquet of wildflowers that she carries, a compromise that was reached a few months ago after she had quite suddenly announced she was much too grown up to be a flower girl. When he looks at Justin, he begins to tear up from the force of his joy. Finally, finally, they reach the end of the aisle.

“Who presents this man to be married?” Shitty asks.

“I do,” June says, proudly. She hugs her father firmly before taking her seat.

“Family and friends, we are gathered here today to unite Justin Oluransi and Adam Birkholtz in marriage,” Shitty begins.

“Finally!” Bitty yells out, and laughter ripples through the attendees.

“Do you, Justin, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in matrimony, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?”

“I do,” Justin says, grinning.

“Do you, Adam, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in matrimony, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Justin and Adam have chosen rings to exchange with each other as a symbol of their unending love. Justin, as you place this ring on Adam’s finger, please repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed and pledge you my love now and forever.” 

“With this ring, I thee wed and pledge you my love now and forever.” 

“Adam, as you place this ring on Justin’s finger, please repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed and pledge you my love now and forever.”

“With this ring, I thee wed and pledge you my love now and forever.” 

“By the authority vested in me by the State of Massachusetts, I now pronounce you husband and husband! Seal it with a kiss, motherfuckers!” Cheers erupt as Adam dips Justin into a suitably dramatic kiss.

When Jack is finally satisfied after taking a million pictures of them posing with basically every single person in attendance, they can finally head into the barn, which has been transformed with fairy lights and mason jars into a pinterest perfect rustic reception. The new family of three waits hand in hand to make their entrance, as Louis, who volunteered to DJ, introduces them for the first time by the new name they had chosen.

“For the first time as a family, the Holsoms!”

Their wedding is, in a word, perfect. All the people they love gathered together in the place where they began to fall in love to celebrate them. Adam has never felt more complete.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr [here](https://nurseanddex.tumblr.com/)


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